Giants To Sign Ruben Tejada To Minors Deal
The Giants have inked infielder Ruben Tejada, Connor Grossman of KNBR reports. It’s a minor league deal for the 26-year-old.
Tejada was recently cut loose by the Cardinals, who had signed him to a $1.5MM deal as they looked to fill in at shortstop. Previously, Tejada was tendered a contract by the Mets but then released before his $3MM deal became guaranteed. They owe him $491K after that move.
For San Francisco, Tejada provides another middle infield option for the organization. He’s a steady but unexciting player who generally rates just below average at the plate and with the glove at short. He struggled early in St. Louis, slashing just .176/.225/.235 over forty trips to the plate.
Quick Hits: July 2 Market, Giants, Dodgers, Ubaldo
Some news from around baseball as we wrap up the weekend…
- With the next international signing window opening on July 2, Baseball America’s Ben Badler profiles (in two separate pieces) 10 youngsters likely to receive seven-figure bonuses. Kevin Maitan is perhaps the mostly highly-touted player of the entire 2016-17 class, as the 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop is rumored to be in line for a bonus north of $4MM, most likely from the Braves. “Nobody is a can’t miss but it’s hard to see him missing,” one scout says of Maitan. As always, it’s well worth getting a BA subscription to read the full scouting reports and news, including how the Braves, Padres and A’s are connected to two players each, with others rumored to be signing with the Nationals, Astros, Rockies and Mariners.
- The Giants and Dodgers both pursued some major free agent arms last winter, and the results of that hunt are being seen this season, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. After missing out on Zack Greinke, the Giants pivoted to Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, who have both been workhorses for the club. The Dodgers weren’t interested in either Cueto or Samardzija at the price of their respective contracts with the Giants, and according to Cueto via an interpreter, the Dodgers never offered him a contract at all. “They were telling me to wait,” Cueto said. After missing out on Greinke, L.A. made two less-expensive signings in Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir, though as Shaikin notes, the Dodgers’ main issue this season has been a lack of offense.
- Ubaldo Jimenez was rocked for five runs in just a third of an inning today, the shortest start of his Major League career. Jimenez now has a 6.89 ERA over 62 2/3 IP this season, leading Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun to wonder just how much longer the Orioles can continue using him in the rotation. Jimenez can’t be sent with the minors without his permission, and releasing him isn’t likely with roughly $21MM owed to him through the 2017 season.
- If the Orioles do replace Jimenez in the rotation, Dylan Bundy won’t be a candidate, as Encina details in another Baltimore Sun piece that the O’s are focusing on slowly rebuilding Bundy’s arm strength with an eye towards having him contend for a starting spot next spring. Buck Showalter said the aim is to have Bundy throw 60-75 innings out of the bullpen this season. Bundy, the fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft, has had his career delayed by several injuries, including Tommy John surgery.
- Robinson Cano‘s decision to sign with the Mariners after the 2013 season led to shockwaves throughout the second base market that could still be felt in some of this past offseason’s moves, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman writes. Of the six teams (the Cubs, Nationals, Mariners, Pirates, Mets and Yankees) Sherman ranks as the most impacted by Cano’s signing, the Yankees are ranked last, as it is still unclear as to whether Starlin Castro is the club’s long-term answer at the keystone.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Padres corner infielder Josh Satin has retired, Michael Mayer of Metsmerized Online first reported (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has seen action in four seasons with the Mets, compiling a .243/.346/.351 slash line in 292 big league plate appearances. He has scuffled in limited playing time this year at Triple-A, though, with just eight base knocks in 49 trips to the dish.
- The Giants have acquired outfielder Shawon Dunston Jr. from the Cubs, as he himself tweeted (h/t to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, via Twitter). It’s a cash deal for the son of the former big leaguer, who also went from Chicago to San Francisco in the mid-nineties. Of course, the younger Dunston hasn’t yet cracked the majors; far from it, in fact. Signed to a significant bonus after being picked in the 11th round of the 2011 draft, he has yet to advance past the High-A level at 23 years of age. Over 128 plate appearances there this year, he owns a .219/.299/.342 batting line with seven steals.
Giants, Chris Denorfia Agree To Minors Deal
The Giants and veteran outfielder Chris Denorfia are in agreement on a minor league contract, pending a physical, according to Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). Denorfia is a client of Pro Star Management, Inc.
The 35-year-old Denorfia hasn’t suited up at the Major League or Minor League level this season, although he was in big league camp with the Yankees back in Spring Training before opting out of said deal on March 27.. Denorfia also appeared in 103 games with the Cubs last season, posting a .269/.319/.373 batting line with three homers in 231 trips to the plate. He has long graded out as a plus defender on the outfield corners and has plenty of experience in center field if he’s needed there in a pinch. He somewhat curiously struggled against left-handed pitching with the Cubs in 2015 — an oddity considering the fact that he’s a lifetime .285/.353/.419 hitter when holding the platoon advantage over a lefty.
The Giants currently have both Angel Pagan and Hunter Pence on the disabled list, and while Pagan may be nearing a return, Pence required surgery to repair a torn hamstring and is expected to be out for at least two months. As such, adding some veteran outfield depth to the mix is a logical course of action for San Francisco, who also agreed to a minor league pact with former Giant Travis Ishikawa yesterday.
Giants Sign Travis Ishikawa To Minor League Deal
The Giants are in agreement with first baseman/outfielder Travis Ishikawa on a minor league contract, as Damian Trujillo of NBC Bay Area first reported (on Twitter). Giants GM Bobby Evans confirmed the news to reporters last night, tweets Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area, citing a need for depth at the position and stating that Ishikawa will report to Triple-A Sacramento as soon as possible.
The 32-year-old Ishikawa broke into the Majors with the Giants back in 2006 and has become somewhat of a folk hero among the Giants faithful due to his Herculean performance in the 2014 NLCS against the Cardinals, which culminated in a walk-off three-run homer to send the Giants to their third World Series in five years. Ishikawa took home a pair of rings with San Francisco (2010, 2014) and will now re-join the organization that originally drafted him (21st round, 2002) for a third stint.
Ishikawa began the 2016 season on a minors pact with the White Sox but struggled with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate, batting a mere .201/.277/.344 in 175 trips to the plate. The Sox cut him loose in late May, and he’ll now hope for better results and a return to the Majors with the Giants. The vast majority of Ishikawa’s Major League experience has come with San Francisco, but he’s also appeared with the Pirates, Brewers and, ever so briefly, with the Orioles (18 plate appearances) and Yankees (two PAs) as well. He’s a career .255/.321/.391 batter in 1050 Major League PAs and has also authored a .269/.355/.467 slash line in 1376 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
NL Notes: Velasquez, Fernandez, Posey, Peralta, Masterson
Phillies righty Vincent Velasquez was pulled from his start today after just two pitches — neither of which clocked in over 87 mph, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). That’s an ominous sign for Velasquez, who just turned 24 yesterday. He has shown both immense promise and some inconsistency, but overall has looked like an important piece of the organization’s future by throwing 61 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball with 10.7 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. The team is calling it right biceps soreness for now, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki tweets, but that doesn’t necessarily reduce any concern. It’s too early for a full assessment, of course, but the fact that the former Tommy John patient has a problem in the elbow area is troubling.
Here’s some other news form the National League:
- The Marlins are “pessimistic” about their chances of inking ace Jose Fernandez to a long-term pact, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He has been at peak form since returning from his Tommy John surgery, especially of late, and the club appears to think he wouldn’t bite at the $25MM AAV put on future free agent seasons in Stephen Strasburg‘s recent extension.
- Superstar Giants catcher Buster Posey is dealing with an irritate nerve in his right thumb, but he suggests it’s an injury that can be managed (video link via KNBR). Posey, 29, is hitting well below his career rate over his first 212 plate appearances, though he’s still humming along at a productive /.257/.316/.450 clip.
- Cardinals infielder Jhonny Peralta sees his move to third base as more than just a temporary switch, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Soon to turn 34, Peralta says that he could find a home at the hot corner. “I know I am getting older and you have Diaz being younger,” he said, “so third base might be my future. I have a future there. Hopefully, I’ll play it as well as I need to play it. It could be my fit.” As Goold notes, the front-loaded structure of Peralta’s contract leaves the team on the hook for just $10MM next year. Peralta will hit the open market again thereafter. He has maintained his offensive production since signing with St. Louis, posting a .269/.336/.429 batting line over 1,272 plate appearances.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the organization has seen some promising signs from veteran righty Justin Masterson, MLB.com’s Adam Berry reports, though there’s still work to be done. “You still see the life in the fastball,” said Huntington, “but it’s not the mid-90s power-sink that Justin had when he was so successful. We’re still working to get him back … to get the mechanics to where he’s comfortable with them and build the arm strength. We’re still in that phase.”
Quick Hits: Miller, Schwarber, Yankees, Giants, Daniels
Here are some items from around baseball as we head into the new week…
- The Cubs wouldn’t trade Kyle Schwarber for Andrew Miller, a source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman pegs the Yankees and Cubs as good trade partners given Chicago’s possible weakness in the back of the bullpen and New York’s need for young position player talent. Schwarber, of course, is out of action until 2017 after undergoing season-ending surgery in early April but is still one of the game’s most highly-touted young sluggers.
- Sherman’s piece outlines several younger players from around the league who could be Yankees targets if the Bombers indeed decide to become deadline sellers. While Miller or Aroldis Chapman have been heavily cited as the most obvious trade chips, Sherman suggests New York could explore the market for a wide range of players, including Carlos Beltran, Brett Gardner, Brian McCann, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda or even Dellin Betances.
- The Giants could trade “for a complementary player,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle opines (Twitter link), but he doesn’t think the club will swing a major deal at this time of the year. With Hunter Pence gone for at least two months following hamstring surgery, the Giants have already been discussing trade targets, though they have a number of outfield options already on the roster.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels talks to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News about the 2006 draft, which was Daniels’ first in charge of the Texas front office. While the Rangers found some good talent in that draft class, their first-round pick was rather a notable miss. Daniels said his team was eyeing Tim Lincecum with the 12th overall selection but the Rangers were surprised when the Giants drafted Lincecum tenth overall. Texas instead took high school lefty Kasey Kiker, who never made it higher than Double-A and has been out of pro ball since 2012.
Hunter Pence To Undergo Surgery For Hamstring Tear
TODAY: Pence’s surgery has been scheduled for Thursday, the Giants told reporters (including Alex Pavlovic).
FRIDAY: Giants outfielder Hunter Pence is expected to require surgery for a fully torn hamstring, Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com was among those to report. He’ll likely miss at least two months after undergoing the procedure, but the veteran tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that it may be longer (Twitter links).
For now, the expectation is that the team will look to internal options to step in with Pence (and also Angel Pagan) sidelined. But manager Bruce Bochy says that he’s already had discussions with GM Bobby Evans about possible trade targets.
The diagnosis does seem to suggest that San Francisco will be shopping for a corner outfielder. Some might have suggested that was already a reasonable position to pursue an upgrade. And with Pence likely out until after the trade deadline, the club may not have the luxury of just waiting to see how he bounces back.
Pence is among the organization’s best and most respected players, and the loss will tell regardless of what the team can do to replace his production. Barring a major trade, though, there’s little chance that San Francisco will find anything close to what Pence provides from its fill-ins. Over his 208 plate appearances on the year, the 33-year-old owns a .298/.375/.486 batting line with seven home runs.
Fortunately, the Giants do have several well-regarded young players on hand to fill in. Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker are both active and figure to get a legitimate opportunity at the major league level for the first time after showing real promise in the upper minors. The club can also turn to utilityman Kelby Tomlinson and utilize first baseman Brandon Belt in the corner outfield.
Despite those options, it will be interesting to watch what the Giants aim to accomplish in the summer trade market. Several corner outfielders appeared in the first iteration of MLBTR’s Top 10 Trade Candidates series, including Jay Bruce of the Reds and Ryan Braun of the Brewers. Any number of other players could join them over the months to come, with San Francisco’s options likely ranging from platoon pieces to long-term assets.
Cafardo’s Latest: RPs, Bautista, Teheran, Shields, Ausmus
This summer’s trade market will favor relief pitchers, not starters, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. While the pool of starters who are expected to be available looks shallow and largely unappealing, the opposite is true in regards to bullpen options. Cafardo points to Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Arodys Vizcaino, Jeremy Jeffress, Jeanmar Gomez, Sean Doolittle and Will Smith, among many others, as relievers who could be on the move in the next couple months.
Here’s more from Cafardo:
- The 30-27 Blue Jays are in the thick of the playoff race, but if they fall out of it, right fielder Jose Bautista and first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (both pending free agents) are prime trade candidates. The Cardinals, Cubs and Hunter Pence-less Giants would all have interest in Bautista, according to Cafardo.
- The Red Sox and Braves would match up well in a potential trade involving right-hander Julio Teheran, per Cafardo, who notes that Boston’s package would have to be headlined by outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi, infield prospect Yoan Moncada, third baseman Travis Shaw or catcher/left fielder Blake Swihart. Of that group, the Red Sox would prefer to give up Swihart, though Cafardo doubts he alone would be enough of a return for Teheran.
- Before the Padres traded righty James Shields to the White Sox on Saturday, the Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers and Dodgers expressed interest in acquiring the 34-year-old. Shields’ final start with the Padres – in which he allowed 10 earned runs, eight hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings on Tuesday – served as a deterrent to some clubs, though, reports Cafardo.
- The 27-28 Tigers aren’t considering replacing third-year manager Brad Ausmus as of now, relays Cafardo. However, given that he’s in a contract year, Ausmus could be managing for his job.
Giants Have Discussed Pursuing Andrew Miller
With the Aug. 1 trade deadline drawing closer, the first-place Giants could make a major acquisition over the next couple months as they seek their fourth World Series title since 2010. One potential trade target they’ve discussed internally is Yankees left-handed reliever Andrew Miller, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Rosenthal wonders if San Francisco would be willing to part with its best pitching prospect, 23-year-old right-hander Tyler Beede, in order to land Miller.
Even if the Giants do pursue Miller, there’s obviously no guarantee the Yankees will deal the 31-year-old. Miller, after all, is still under their control at a reasonable $9MM per year through 2018, so they could keep him if they plan to contend in the near term. Contention could be out of the question this season, though, given that the Yankees haven’t consistently shown signs of life during their 25-29 start. They’re already seven games behind American League East-leading Boston and six games out of a Wild Card spot, and they lost first baseman Mark Teixeira on Friday to what could be a season-ending knee injury.
If the Yankees sell Miller, there’s a chance they’ll lose both him and fellow lights-out lefty Aroldis Chapman by the end of the year. Chapman, also a summer trade candidate, is slated to hit free agency after the season. That would bring a quick end to the Yankees’ much-ballyhooed Chapman-Miller-Dellin Betances trio and leave them with just one of the three going forward.
For the 35-22 Giants, who hold the second-best record in baseball, adding Miller would further strengthen a bullpen that already has a handful of impressive late-game options – even without the injured Sergio Romo. Giants relievers entered Saturday with a below-average 4.01 ERA and a replacement-level fWAR (0.0), good for the fourth-worst mark in the league, but closer Santiago Casilla (a pending free agent), Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin and Derek Law have performed well. Miller is vastly superior to each of them, though, and would offer variety as a southpaw.
Handedness aside, Miller has racked up videogamelike strikeout totals (16.62 per nine innings) while showing excellent control (1.25 BB/9), generating grounders 50 percent of the time and pitching to a 1.25 ERA over 21 2/3 innings this year. Dating back to 2012, his breakout season in relief with the Red Sox, Miller has put up a 2.28 ERA, 14.21 K/9, 3.20 BB/9 and 48.1 percent grounder rate in 216 2/3 frames. The 6-foot-7, 210-pounder has added to his value by showing the ability to dominate as either a closer or setup man.
There are likely to be many suitors for Miller if the Yankees make him available, so the Bombers’ asking price for him should be high. Whether the Giants are willing to move Beede for Miller is unknown – as is whether Beede would even appeal to New York – but it’s fair to say the reliever will command a quality return if the Yanks shop him.